34.1 The Flame God’s Roar
Mao Mao giggled and said, “Na Na is the craftiest. She likes to bully the other babies, especially Tian Tian. I, whose name is Xi Yun, summon you. Come out my pet, Guan Guan.” A red light flashed in Mao Mao’s hands this time. A little pink pig appeared in her embrace and wiggled it’s chubby butt. It was the same size as the big rat, Tian Tian, only thirty centimeters long.
Nian Bing looked at the cute pink pig and count not help but exclaim in admiration. “That really is a prime ingredient for roast suckling pig!” After saying this, he was met with indignant gazes. Mao Mao angrily glared at Nian Bing. “Big Brother, what are you saying? You’re not allowed to talk about Guan Guan like that. He is so cute and you…you actually want to eat it?”
Nian Bing said sheepishly, “Sorry Mao Mao. It’s just a habit from my profession.”
Mao Mao harrumphed. She said, “Guan Guan is the cutest. It has always been super cute since it was little.. Occasionally, its big ears would stand erect, like a proper little official. That’s why I called him Guan Guan.1Guan Guan, don’t be scared. Big Sister will protect you. There won’t be anyone who can harm you.” The pink piglet had furiously buried his head in Mao Mao’s embrace, exposing it’s wiggling butt. Hearing Mao Mao’s words, it had seemed to have regained its courage. It poked out its head out from Mao Mao’s embrace and looked around outside. When its beady pig eyes fell on Feng Nu, it was strangely not afraid at all; it seemed to be more interested. It two little eyes flashed dark red.
Feng Nu’s eyes held a hint of surprise. “Mao Mao, where did all your pets come from?”
Mao Mao giggled and said, “Of course they were bred by Daddy! However, they haven’t reached their final form yet. I’m afraid of walking on the road alone, so I brought them with me. Anyway, they have a contract with me. I, whose name is Xi Yun, summon you. Come out my pet, Dan Dan.” As Mao Mao summoned her final beast, the massive cow emerged, instantly dwarfing the other three beasts. With two “moo”s, it appeared next to Mao Mao.
Hearing the sound of the cow, Na Na, the fox who had been perched on top of Tian Tian, the big rat, suddenly raised its head. It’s small eyes emitted a sinister light. With a fierce leap, the fire-red figure was immediately suspended from the milk cow’s stomach. When looking closely, you could see it suckling on the cow’s tit, gulping down its milk.
Mao Mao said in dissatisfaction, “Na Na, you are the naughtiest.”
One pig, one cow, one fox, as well as one big rat composed Mao Mao’s four greatest summoned beasts. Although they looked like nothing much, Nian Bing could faintly sense that these summoned beasts were not so simple.
Feng Nu hoisted out a sack of rice from the kitchen and scattered the grain on the ground. The large grey rat and Guan Guan the pink piglet almost simultaneously pounced, immovably bound to the pile of rice.
The milk cow bellowed angrily and tried to shake off the fox. But the fox had grabbed onto its belly tightly. Despite its efforts, it could not prevent it’s milk from being sucked away into the fox’s belly.
Mao Mao comforted the cow. “Dan Dan, behave a little more. There is nothing here for Na Na to eat, so just let her drink your milk. Do you want to eat some rice?”
Dan Dan’s huge eyes looked innocent, but Nian Bing knew without a doubt that if the fox was on the ground, the cow would immediately trample the fox to death.
“Nian Bing, we will start.” Feng Nu’s level voice suddenly pierced Nian Bing’s ears. Nian Bing looked at her and she looked right back at him. Melancholy at parting suddenly spread through Nian Bing’s chest. He nodded and said, “I will be troubling you.”
Feng Nu seemed to float as she arrived at the corner of the wall next to the forging furnace. Dark red Nine Flame Qi set off her pink hair. With a soft yell, that extremely heavy forging furnace was actually hoisted by her into the air. With a leap, she had already arrived at the center of the courtyard and set down the furnace. Looking at Nian Bing she said, “Wait a moment.”
In the span of a moment, Feng Nu had added some materials into the forging furnace. They were obviously for combustion. Just as Feng Nu did not understand cooking, Nian Bing was also completely clueless when it came to forging. He could only stand to the side and watch.
Mao Mao was playing with her pets at the side. That big rat, Tian Tian, could really eat. Eight-tenths of the sack of rice had entered its body, while the little pink pig had only eaten a little. But since it had started eating, it had not raised its head.
A red light flashed, and a familiar aura attracted Nian Bing’s attention. He did not know when the True Sun Knife had been put into the forging furnace. A pattern in the shape of the Flame God’s Stone had already been carved into the handle of the True Sun Knife. The edges of the carving were rough. It was clear that the fire dragon’s horn was exceedingly hard to damage. Feng Nu held the Heavenly Flame Sword in her hands. She nodded her head at Nian Bing and said, “Pump the bellows for me. Remember, your movements must be steady. Now, we will begin.”
Feng Nu’s whole body let out a scorching aura. Fortunately, Nian Bing was on the other side of the furnace and was not hit by the hot air from her body. An intense, red light appeared around her body. She pointed her finger in front of her and a stream of red light shot into the furnace. The furnace fire exploded, but not with an ordinary red flame. The tongues of fire were white, bathing the entire courtyard in their light. Everything was the same as it was when Hua Tian had forged the Morning Dew Knife. The only difference was that this time, Feng Nu was a lot more relaxed than Hua Tian. It was obvious that her Nine Flame Qi was on a higher level than her mentor.
With a soft grunt, the Heavenly Flame Sword was unsheathed. A wave of blazing fire ran along the Heavenly Flame Sword and shot at the tail end of the True Sun Knife, with the white flames rising to meet it. When it met with the light from the Heavenly Flame Sword, the white flame immediately turned green.
Without Feng Nu’s reminder, Nian Bing immediately started to pump the bellows. The bellows settled into a fixed rhythm in his hands and pushed the now green flame into a steady state. Feng Nu gazed calmly at the True Knife Fire that was amidst the furnace fire. Suddenly she yelled lightly, “Nine Heaven Rebelling Flame.” She omitted Hua Tian’s process of drawing up the blood.
Nian Bing used one hand to pump the bellows and the other to take out the Flame God’s Stone from his space. The originally red Nine Flames Qi turned dark green in an instant. Light flashed as the Flame God’s Stone was tossed to Feng Nu.
Feng Nu’s sky blue eyes suddenly sparkled like a prism. In a moment, the deep green qi had turned crimson. When the Flame God’s Stone came into contact with the qi on her body, it seemed to become a part of her body. A dazzling, faint blue flame flashed as an incomparably massive amount of fire element surged outwards and poured into the furnace.
Even if Nian Bing had the ability of a fire mage and had been together with the Flame God’s Stone for many years, he could not withstand the heat of this flame. A low-ranked blue ice shield shielded his body. He immediately let go of the bellows and stepped back a few steps.
Mao Mao also made a move at this time. She waved her two hands and chanted something in a low voice. Her four precious summoned beasts disappeared one after another in the midst of the red light. Evidently, she was afraid that the blazing flame would harm her summoned beasts.
“Fuse.” Feng Nu’s charming voice yelled out. The flame-shaped Flame God’s Stone followed along the three foot seven inch Heavenly Flame Sword, accurately inlaying into the cavity on the True Sun Knife. As the Flame God’s Stone and the knife united, the coarse edges shone. The hard dragon’s horn seemed to submit to the light blue flame emitted by the Flame God’s Stone. Wrapped entirely in it, they unified as one. It seemed as if they had always been together.
Feng Nu shot a severe look at Nian Bing. The Heavenly Flame Sword in her hands turned to cut down at Nian Bing. Nian Bing immediately started reciting a spell and held out his right hand. The chant he was saying now was not for defense, but to restrict the trigger magic scrolls in his chest from activating.
The sword flashed and blood flew out. Not a single drop was wasted as the Nine Flames Qi swept up the blood and deposited it into the knife handle of the True Sun Knife. The entire True Sun Knife turned crimson as scorching air shot into the sky. The red light from the knife was like the deep red sun rising into the sky. It let out an intense roar. The knife seemed to be chanting. Nian Bing stood in his place, unmoving. His gaze was firmly locked onto the True Sun Knife. From the broad knife body, he seemed to see Zha Ji’s figure.
Feng Nu had subconsciously taken a few steps back at the deep roar. Murmuring to herself, she said, “What a great fire element. It’s just a pity that it has already acknowledged a master. If it were not the Flame God’s Stone, but some other ordinary treasure, it definitely would not be able to inlayed in materials such as the fire dragon’s horn. I really did not think that I would be able to give birth to a god-grade blade so quickly.”
Nian Bing had forgotten everything else. In his eyes, there was only the brilliant, intense red light of the True Sun Knife. Step by step, he headed to the furnace. The roar of the True Sun Knife seemed to be beckoning to his heart. It appeared that Nian Bing did not feel the scorching air streams around the furnace. He extended his hand into the blaze and directly grabbed the True Sun Knife out.
The roaring noise suddenly became even more intense as Nian Bing grabbed the handle of the True Sun Knife, and a dark red light shot into the sky. Nian Bing’s inner fire element suddenly bloomed out. Body and knife unified as one. A quiet bell rang, and the Morning Dew Knife that had been in the space ring sprung out without any warning. The seal array on the outside of the knife had been broken by a green-blue light. An icy aura pushed the scorching aura of the True Sun Knife to the right.
Nian Bing reached out with his left hand and grabbed the Ice and Snow Goddess’ Sigh. The scabbard responded by flinging to the side. Two massive balls of ice and fire energy continuously interweaved within him. The rotating Ice and Fire vortex inside of him reached incomparable speeds and widened greatly. Nian Bing’s skin alternated between blue and red, incessantly interchanging between those two colors. All of the ice element and fire element in the air were like moths drawn to a light as they rushed at him. The blue Morning Dew and the red True Sun formed a distinct contrast.
With a kala sound, Nian Bing’s clothes could not endure the extreme magic power and tore. To Feng Nu’s and Mao Mao’s shock, Nian Bing’s body was exposed to the air. Shining with a red and blue light, every inch of his skin looked extremely dangerous.
At this moment, Feng Nu and Mao Mao had already turned around. Feng Nu was afraid the aura coming from Nian Bing’s body would harm Mao Mao. Gathering the younger girl into her arms, she pointed her foot at the ground and a thick layer of Nine Flames Qi protected Mao Mao.
“Big Sisters, what’s up with Big Brother Nian Bing? Why did he take off his clothes?” Mao Mao’s red face asked in a low tone.
Feng Nu’s face was just as red, but with the color of the Nine Flames Qi, the blush on her face was not as obvious. She coughed and said, “Don’t worry, your Big Brother Nian Bing is fine. He is a mage, and the gems on those two knives are top-quality magic stones. The True Sun Knife was just inlayed within the Flame God’s Stone, bestowing a soul for the knife. Naturally, a huge amount of energy would be emitted. It called the ice knife, which intensified the magic element and destroyed his clothing. In a moment, the knife energy will stabilize and everything will be fine. He should have gained quite a bit this time around.
While Feng Nu spoke of this opportunity, Nian Bing’s absorption speed had increased to ten times the norm, and was turning the magic element in the air into his own magic power. Drop by drop his magic power grew, continuously making him become stronger. At the same time, it brought the risk of his Ice and Fire Source’s mutual collapse closer.
……
Ice God’s Pagoda.
The Ice and Snow Goddess’ Worshipper who was meditating suddenly opened her eyes. “It has appeared. This time I can feel the existence of an energy that I hate. Could it be that someone from the Harmonic Flower Empire has it? Ice and Snow Goddess’ Stone, I will always find you.”
Blue light flashed and without any warning, the Ice and Snow Goddess’ worshipper disappeared from her cross-legged position in a blue hexagram.
……
The red and blue light had finally dissipated. Nian Bing awoke from his strange stupor. His internal Ice and Fire Source whirlpool had obviously started to spin faster than before. The color had deepened and he could obviously feel that his magic power was stronger. It was good that it was still spinning, and inwardly, he let out a sigh of relief. Looking at the True Sun Knife in his hands that was surging with powerful fire, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “Such a great Flame God’s Roar. You’re ability is definitely not any less than Morning Dew!”
With a cough, Feng Nu said, “Nian Bing, shouldn’t you first find something to cover your body with?”
Nian Bing blanched and then discovered that all the clothes on his body had disappeared. His glossy skin had been completely exposed to the air. With his whole head on fire and his face entirely red, he immediately summoned out a pair of plain clothes and flusteredly put them on.